The book “Queen Louise. Letters” was published in Wiesbaden by Marix Verlag GmbH to mark the bicentennial of Louise’s death.
From the introductory article
by the publisher Sabine Anders:
The book “Queen Louise. Letters” was published in Wiesbaden by Marix Verlag GmbH to mark the bicentennial of Louise’s death.
From the introductory article
by the publisher Sabine Anders:
For 150 years, until the end of World War II, Queen Louise of Prussia was the most admired and revered woman in German history. The cult that developed around her personality after her death made her a role model for the German nation that was being forged during the confrontation with Napoleon and France in the 19th century. However, this influence on German history after her death was much stronger than in her lifetime. Presenting Louise as a political figure prevented historians from creating realistic portrayals of the queen for a long time. Of course, inflated depictions of her personality led early enough to creating negative images of Louise, but these too were far-fetched. In the midst of all these positive and negative portrayals of Louise, it is difficult to establish today what she was really like. Was she a bourgeois queen, close to the people, who rebelled against outdated court etiquette? Was she passionate about the renewal of the Prussian state, or did she enjoy the extravagant lifestyle that her status as queen allowed her to have? Was she the instigator of the war that recklessly drove the people into misery, as Napoleon represented her to be? Or did she have absolutely no influence on politics, as her husband claimed? Was she a martyr who heroically bore the misfortunes inflicted on her country by Napoleon, and who, even in the most difficult times, never lost hope? Or did she surrender after losing the war and find solace only in religion? Perhaps Louise’s letters are the best starting point to arrive at what is a realistic image of the queen.